For Reasons Unknown
by silverathena
Summary: AH/AU Loneliness comes in many forms, but what Caroline knows for sure is that she seems to have it mastered. As a college professor at a well-respected university, Caroline has pretty much given up on ever finding someone she can trust again. Klaus hasn't believed in love for a while now, but that doesn't stop him from trying to chase a certain infuriating blonde. Also Kalijah.
1. The Ice Cream Incident

**A/N: Hey guys! Important note: Obviously I've taken a bunch of creative liberties in creating this situation, but even with that I hope you enjoy the story.**

"Dr. Forbes, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Elijah begins. He runs his fingers through his carefully gelled hair before straightening his tie and grabbing his lapels. Caroline often wonders how a man can always look so put together, not one hair of place and always clad in a designer suit. But today, her department supervisor is uncharacteristically rumpled looking. He doesn't look like he wants to continue speaking at all, so Caroline decides to prompt him.

"What bad news?" Caroline ventures. It's only her first day, she couldn't have messed up that badly yet.

Elijah leans back in his chair before frowning and responding in his British accent. "Well, I'm afraid that one of your new colleagues released a rather harsh attack on your most recent paper last night. Dr. Merloup took issue with your view that culture develops from a fundamental goodness of humanity. To put it frankly, he tore your paper to shreds, and insinuated some displeasing things about your character." Elijah leans forward and clasps his hands together as Caroline freezes in shock. "I am informing you of this not necessarily because I find any fault with your paper, but because he is your colleague in this department, and I know that he can be… difficult to work with. I thought I'd warn you before trying to confront him… he's fairly new also, but… he can be somewhat overpowering."

Caroline pauses a few moments before replying, a tiny frown etched on her forehead. "Maybe there were some problems with my paper. I can understand someone attacking my paper, but me? Isn't that really unprofessional? Like, that's just a way to discredit someone without actually attacking their argument." Caroline says, carefully moderating her volume so she didn't start yelling in frustration. Control your temper, she told herself sternly. She could understand people attacking her paper, like she had told Elijah. She had been in a hurry moving to get to her new professorship gig at Columbia, so of course she might've overlooked a couple flaws in her paper before she published. "Dr. Mikaelson, what did he insinuate about me?" Caroline continues carefully, stressing the word insinuate.

Elijah looks doubly uncomfortable. Weirdly enough, it seems like Elijah agrees with her that Dr. Merloup's behavior was unprofessional, but for some reason he was choosing to warn her instead of discipline him. Caroline is suddenly struck by a realization. Elijah actually seems kind of scared of this man, which iss strange because Elijah doesn't strike her as a meek man. "He might've insinuated you were unintelligent and received your doctorate through other means than your intelligence." Elijah mumbles, wincing as he prepares for Caroline's reaction.

Caroline starts rocking back and forth, muttering under her breath. "… that no good mother kisser … how dare he I'll show him intelligence… he won't know what hit him…" Caroline continues cursing him for about 20 seconds before Elijah addresses her again. "Dr. Forbes?" No response. He sighs. "Caroline?" Caroline reluctantly looks up at him, fire burning in her ice blue eyes.

"My advice to you, as someone who's been in your exact position, is to not let it bother you." He pauses, considering his next words. "I chose to hire you for a reason, and what I expect from you now is to prove Dr. Merloup wrong." He smiles kindly at her as Caroline looks up at him and gives him a small, determined smile.

"Thank you, Dr. Mikaelson. I won't disappoint you."

"Please," Elijah chuckles as he leans back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "There's no need for formalities, Caroline. Call me Elijah." Caroline nods gently and grabs her briefcase as Elijah dismisses her. She decides that she likes Elijah. Yeah, he's a little stiff, but she's glad to have found a small welcome in the frigid ranks of academia, where she had expected to find only mistrust and hostility.

* * *

It's one of those days where Caroline feels like she's starring in a sitcom that the entire point is to put the main character through hell for the sake of comedy. Yeah, like when one of her lectures began with her accidentally opening up a slideshow of spring break '06? Hilarious! Staining and tearing her outfit as she's presenting in front of her grad students? Embarrassing and relatable! It seems like everything that could go wrong on her first day at work did go wrong. She's late, she spills coffee, she accidentally almost cries in front of her boss, every crosswalk she hits says don't walk; the list goes on and on.

It isn't really as bad as she's making it seem, she knows. As a newly minted assistant professor at Columbia, she knows she's the object of much envy from her peers from her PhD program and the whole of academia. She loves anthropology and teaching, and couldn't imagine a better job than getting paid to do what she loves. Plus Columbia seems like a good place so far, judging by her supervisor, Elijah. Caroline is very aware of the fact that she can be dramatic at times, but today she chooses to ignore her mind and follow her stomach, all the way down the stairs and out to the ice cream shop down the street.

She makes it to the shop without too much trouble (that taxi _almost_ hit her, and she knows now that high heels and these sidewalks do not mix) and steps in line. It's one of those open-air New York City cafés that seem like they belong on the streets of Paris, and the peaceful atmosphere relaxes Caroline as she closes her eyes as she feels the breeze play with her hair and the sun dance across her eyelids. _This is it_, she thinks as she buys her chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, _this was the life I've always wanted_. Caroline has finally reached her place of zen, the dream that got her through grad school and post-doc. But as they say, what can go wrong will, and Caroline provides excellent proof of this as her heel gets caught in a crack in the sidewalk and the world starts to turn sideways.

_My ice cream!_ Caroline whines internally as she watches it fall off her cone in slow motion. Caroline mentally prepares herself to hit the ground, a skill learned from all her tumbles as a cheerleader. Weirdly enough, Caroline doesn't mind falling, which served her well in high school. It's a sort of freedom for her, as the rush of sinking weightlessly through the air always masks any sort of pain she might've felt from hitting the ground. A lot sooner than she had expected, Caroline lets out a surprised "oof!" as she feels something break her fall. As she looks up, she realizes what has saved her the mild embarrassment of falling on her face. An attractive man is holding her in his arms, and he now has chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream all over the front of his expensive looking suit. "Seriously? Could this day get any worse?" Caroline mutters, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing it would all disappear like some bad dream.

The man, hearing her comment, chuckles as he lifts her back upright. _Alright asshole_, Caroline thinks as she took in the self-satisfied smirk on his face, _no need to rub it in_. Noticing the ice cream again, Caroline suddenly goes into panic mode. "Oh! I'm so so sorry! Let me clean that up for you!" She grabs a couple napkins from the table and begins frantically pawing at his jacket with them.

"It's quite alright, love," he replies. _OOhh, hot and british,_ Caroline's inner devil thinks. _Shut up! Not now we're in panic clean mode,_ Caroline's inner angel replies. _Yeah, he probably has as girlfriend_, remarks the devil. _Truth, also, don't you have a boyfriend?_ the angel replies. _He's not my boyfriend! It's complicated. Now both of you shut up! I'm trying to deal with this here!_ Caroline thinks as she continues apologizing for spilling the ice cream. "No, it's fine, this suit is a bit dull. You had quite a fall there; I'm just satisfied that I was there to stop you from hitting your pretty little head," he flirts. This guy isn't an idiot. He knows an opportunity to get to know a pretty girl when he sees it. Caroline, oblivious, just keeps mumbling apologies on autopilot and pawing at his chest. "No really, it's fine," he continues as he takes Caroline's hands in his and holds them while he gazes into her eyes while trying to get her attention. Caroline's frantic mind momentarily goes blank as she struggles to come up with any sort of response.

"Thank you. I've just had a horrible awful day and everything is going wrong I keep messing up people saw my embarrassing photos and I spilled coffee on my new clothes and I was late and now I'm here with a cute British guy and I have no idea-" Caroline pulls her hands from his and covers her mouth in shock as her cheeks turn red in embarrassment.

The man laughs again, this time a real, mirth filled peal of laughter. "Call me Klaus. Although I don't necessarily mind being calling, how did you put it, 'Cute British Guy'?" Klaus grinsd almost wofishly and continues. "Fancy a drink? You could tell me about that awful day of yours. Try me, I won't bite."

Caroline tilts her head to the side. It's a tempting offer. She could see it now, him taking her to a fancy restaurant while harp music and wine glasses tinkled in the background. He would take her home and right as he was about to kiss her good night she'd pull him into her apartment to spend the night and he'd leave in the morning before she had woken up, never to be seen again. _Well, that took an unexpected turn_, she thought. She looks up, realizing she'd paused for too long and Klaus is still looking at her expectantly. "Um, I have this thing with my friends tonight. Maybe some other time when I'm having another bad day." Caroline lies through her teeth and smiles politely. Without anything else to say, she just nods awkwardly and abruptly walks off, attempting to spare herself further embarrassment, turning around the corner and leaving Klaus speechless and slightly disappointed. She has gone about 4 blocks before she smacks herself in the forehead at the realization that she hadn't even bothered to ask for his phone number. _Oh well,_ she pushes him from her mind and forgets about him faster than yesterday's breakfast.

* * *

Sounds of the city and night waft in through the open window as Caroline twirls around her apartment. "Let it go, LET IT GOOOO!" She sings in a loud, horribly off-key voice. "BECOME ONE WITH THE ICE AND SNOW!" She slides into the TV room, hair in a bun, sweats, and no makeup, with her hairbrush as her microphone. Don't judge her okay? Frozen was a totally cute movie that made her cry it's not her fault sometimes she just needs to sing to distress or, "Unfreeze", as she calls it.

"I'm pretty sure those aren't even the right words," drawls a bitchy voice as Caroline hears the sound of the apartment door closing. In walks a pair of stilettos attached to a pair of fabulously tanned legs in a suit that if looks could kill, it would be shooting daggers. A slender, olive-skinned arm reaches up and pulls out a bun and chocolate waves cascade over her shoulder's as Katherine Pierce, lawyer extraordinaire, casts a inquiring look at Caroline as she crosses her arms over her chest. She studies Caroline for a moment before sighing and sashaying to the kitchen. "Don't tell me," she starts as she pulls a bottle of wine from the fridge as Caroline just flops on the couch, "You're 'unfreezing'. Ugh what happened today? I thought this was supposed to be quote, the super special awesomest day ever unquote." Katherine says the words with air quotes as she walks over to the couch with two wine glasses in hand.

"I was not 'unfreezing'! My day was just fine… actually, it was awful, but I don't wanna talk about it," Caroline pouts while she sticks her tongue out unhappily while Katherine just looks at Caroline with tired eyes. Changing courses, Caroline looks at Katherine with concern. "What are you doing home so late? It's almost 9 o'clock. Shouldn't you have been home a lot earlier?" Now that Caroline really looks, she can see the bags under Katherine's eyes, almost unnoticeable due to the heavy application of concealer over her entire face.

Katherine just leans back and sips her wine. "Alaric's being a real little bitch. He's making us stay longer because we've got this huge case coming up. Whatever though. I worked like this when I was a junior associate, but I thought those days were over. Whatever." Caroline realizes that Katherine probably has had just as bad of a day as her, but she's trying to downplay it. She can see the mistakes and reprimands in the slight stress lines on Katherine's face. Not that she'd ever mention to Katherine that she was starting to get some tiny wrinkles.

"Cheers," Caroline raises her glass and clinks it with Katherine's glass, "To horrible days, and the next ones being better." "And to hot guys that we're going to pick up this Friday!" Katherine adds, letting out a whoop of exhilaration. Caroline groans and covers her eyes with her hand. "What?" Katherine demands sharply, suddenly sitting up and glaring at Caroline. "Don't tell me you're not coming out with me to celebrate your return to New York after 5 years." Caroline just looks at her and mumbles something about work. Katherine jumps on top of her and slaps her across the face. Hard.

"Ow!" Caroline exclaims. "Seriously Kat?" Caroline says, rubbing her cheek as Katherine ignores her attempts to push her off. "You even said yourself you're working really hard so I thought maybe you'd want to stay-" Katherine just glares at her again and rolls her eyes.

"Caroline Forbes, you've known me since I was 3. When have I EVER stayed in just because something lame was going on?" Katherine grabs Caroline by the shoulders and shakes her a little. "Hey! Hey! Look at me. You're going out with me Friday night. You have no choice. Actually, having a bad day is just another reason why we are going out. You've been wound up so tight over this whole little professor thing you need to loosen up. No more feeling sorry for yourself by 'unfrozen' or whatever." Caroline opens her mouth to deny her stress but Katherine's expression silences her before she can speak. "So, you agree with me, right?" Katherine cocks her head to the side as Caroline nods meekly. She doesn't have the strength right now to stand in the way of bulldozer that is Katherine.

"Good," nods Katherine as she gets up off Caroline, a new spring in her step now that she's gotten her way. "Oh, and by the way," Katherine says matter of factly as she steps into her room, "You're coming with me to the Salvatore's Thanksgiving party. I'm told that Stefan has a secret announcement that he wants to share with everyone."

Caroline picks her head up, sensing the nonchalance in Katherine's tone. "Everyone?" She asks, and unspoken question passing between her and Katherine. Katherine just keeps fiddling around in her room, not responding to Caroline's question. "Everyone?" Caroline repeats, more forcefully this time, waiting for the answer she already knows is coming.

Katherine comes out of her room in her pajamas and looks at with Caroline with a strange expression on her face that looks something like pity, if Katherine ever felt sorry for anyone other than her self. "Caroline," she begins carefully, "Stefan, Damon, Elena, and Jeremy will be there," she pauses gently, "and Bonnie and Matt," she mutters, immediately turning away from Caroline.

Caroline sits there, more frozen than she was before. She feels like she needs to sing Let it Go about 100 times before she'll be okay again. She's been sitting still for a while before Katherine gets concerned enough to come up and poke her to see if she's still alive. "No," Caroline mumbles.

"No?" Katherine seizes the small response and tries to work with it. "No what?"

"No," Caroline starts, her voice increasing in volume, as she continues, "No, I'm not going with you You know what they did to me. I don't ever wanna be in the same room with them and I NEVER wanna hear their names again!" Caroline swirls the wine around in her almost empty glass. She takes the bottle and dramatically pours the rest of it into her glass and gulps it down like it's water and she hasn't drank anything since last Christmas.

Katherine rolls her eyes. She's used to Caroline's dramatics. She knows she does her fair share of crazy, so she's unfazed by Caroline's antics. Still, Caroline is really chugging that bottle. "Wow there Paula Abdul. Slow down you're not trying to drown yourself." Katherine takes the wine glass from Caroline's lips and sets it down on the table as Caroline lets out soft whines of protest. "Are you drunk enough to talk about this yet?"

"Kat, you know I'll never be drunk enough to talk about this."

"Caroline, it's okay. I'm your friend! I chose you over those lying backstabbers. We've been through this," Katherine says in one of her rare moments of genuine caring. "I mean, you've never said how you felt. Honey, you were engaged. You have to let someone in eventually so you begin to get over it."

There's a long pause as Katherine curses herself for choosing the words she did, but she knows that she needed to say something. "Get over it?" Caroline finally stutters, "Is that what you want me to do? Just get over it?" She lets out a frustrated laugh. "God, it would be so much easier for everyone if I just got over it, right Kat? Then we could all be a loving family again and we can forget everything they've done." Katherine remains silent, knowing that once Caroline gets going it's hard to stop her. "Don't you remember? They RUINED my life. I was all set, just graduated, ready to finally settle down with Matt, the only sweet guy I've ever met in my life, and Bonnie… she was so happy for me. How could she…?" Caroline gets up and paces over to the window, lost in thought as she finally spills over like Niagra Falls. "Was it too much to ask for a guy that chose me first? That I was his top priority? I was hurt, and of course I left because I didn't want to see his stupid face or smell her stupid perfume anymore. They're dead to me. " She looks down and shakes her head as she continues bitterly. "God, I was so stupid."

"Care, it's been 5 years. Maybe it's time to just hear them out and get some closure so you can move on with your life." Katherine rests a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "You haven't had a relationship since then. You can't keep living like this."

"I have Tyler," Caroline mumbles, knowing that this isn't an excuse and that Katherine can see right through her pathetic excuse for a boyfriend.

Katherine scoffs. "Please, gimme a break. Like it's gonna go anywhere with that idiot. Plus, I'm about 90% sure that he's actually gay. I've had him pegged since college." Katherine flips her hair over her shoulders as she checks her nails.

Caroline looks scandalized. "Katherine! He was the biggest athlete in college. He's totally not gay at all. He is like the least gay person I've ever met." She cringes slightly at how those words came out.

Katherine is nonplussed. "Hey, my gaydar is off the charts banging. We'll go out Friday and I'll find you a nice man to make you forget all about what's his face. We're not finished talking about that party though."

Sensing that the conversation is finished, Caroline nods. "Thanks Katherine." It's two simple words, but they contain multitudes. She's thanking Katherine for making her laugh, for knowing when to pry or not to pry, for making her laugh. For being a best friend through thick and thin.

Katherine nods, understanding this silent, unspoken connection. Caroline is one of the few people that actually understands her and has been there for her for practically her entire life. They share everything, well, maybe that one thing, but… it doesn't matter anymore, Katherine thinks as she leaves Caroline to her thoughts.

Caroline sits on the couch for a while longer, just thinking. She remembers Matt's laugh and the way his blue sparkled right when he was about to surprise her with some great big good news. She still remembers the sound of the voice and the way he smelled when he held her tight to his chest on the bed in their tiny dorm room, feeling like nothing could touch their tiny little world as New York spun around them. She remembers laughing until her sides split with Bonnie as she told stories about how her crazy grams thought she was a witch because her plants always grew so well, but really the whole time Bonnie had just been putting extra miracle-gro on the garden. They would sit in the back of the class and have intense debates to rank the hotness of their fellow students as the pretended to study. She remembers all three of them together, along with Katherine, Elena and Damon, laughing together as they sat at a sidewalk café and everything felt like summer that she wanted to inhale that moment and live in it forever. As much as she told Katherine she hates them, she misses those times where she felt like a piece of a puzzle snugly pit into the right place. Now, sometimes she feels like a dog has ripped up the puzzle and chewed her up and spit her out.

For some reason her mind wanders to the man she met today. What was his name? Ah, Klaus. He was cute, she thinks. Much cuter than Matt or Tyler. At least today proved she could probably do better looks-wise than those two. But she still isn't exactly sure if anyone can match the love she had with Matt.

Caroline glances at the clock and rolls her eyes. She knows its no use dwelling too much on the past, but she can't seem to let it go. Oh well, she thinks as she trudges off to bed, at least she has a job she loves and a true friend in Katherine.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! Just some information: I have the entire story outlined, so I know exactly where I'm going with this. I will try to update as soon as I write and edit things, but I'm still kind of figuring out how much I can write in a certain amount of time. Also, I love reviews that tell me what you thought hint hint :)**


	2. Books Aren't Babies

**A/N: Hey guys! IMPORTANT: IF YOU HAVEN'T REREAD THE FIRST CHAPTER GO BACK AND RE READ IT NOW! A LOT has changed, including settings, background characters, and a ton of other fun things. Sorry there isn't a lot of Klaroline in this chapter of the next one, but I promise I will deliver. I hope you enjoy!**

The soft light of the powerpoint casts an alien glow on Caroline's face as she switches off the lights. She looks out at the expectant faces of her students and straightens her shoulders as she sighs in relief. When she's nervous, she paces back and forth across the classroom so much that the student's heads look like they're on swivels. But today, her students will not be leaving her class with neck cramps, because she is calm and poised, like a queen presiding over her kingdom.

She breezes through her introduction to the course, and gets into the thick of things. She starts into her lecture about the different types of Anthropology, and gets so excited she goes on long, off-topic rants. Oh well. Her kids are sleeping anyways. She remembers what it's like to be a sleep-deprived college kid.

She's talking so fast and enjoying herself so much she almost forgets one last thing. "Hold up guys! Wait up one second I need to quickly explain the project!" Caroline waves her hands crazily and jumps up and down as her students sigh and stop packing up their things. "Okay, this is pretty important, because it's a non-traditional new idea I'm trying-" She pauses as she takes a sharp intake of breath. Because sitting right in the back row, with a petulant frown on his face, is the hot British guy – what was his name? Klutz? Klaus? – with a suit and tie on. Her face gets pink as he gets to his feet and leaves, arms crossed over his chest, his face a scowl of annoyance. Caroline stands up straighter and collects herself as she pushes her racing thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Yeah, the project. What I want you to do is submit a proposal to this email-" she goes to the board and jots down her email address "-by next week with a proposal to informally study another culture right here in New York City. The idea is to study something that not many people understand and tell me why it merits explanation. You will be writing a larger paper on this, so make sure it's something that you can really sink your teeth into." Caroline cringes. Maybe she's been using too many colloquialisms. She should definitely try to speak more like a professor should. "These writing assignments differ from conventional research papers or field studies insofar as the point is for you to demonstrate your ability to integrate questions and ideas from the course readings. The central criterion for grading is your creative and synthetic use of these course readings—typically, engaging salient moments or arguments from three course authors in each paper—more so than the specific dimensions of your chosen field site." She stammers as she looks up at her students, who look thoroughly confused and finally she sighs. "Alright, you guys can go now. Follow the syllabus and you'll do fine in this class."

Her students file out as she gathers her belongings, stopping a moment to check her email. _Oh shit_, she thinks as she sees the first email in her inbox from Elijah. FACULTY MEETING 10:00 Schermerhorn is all it says. Even in text Elijah is concise and aloof. Caroline looks up at the clock. It's 10:05. _Late, Late, late, LATE! _Screams her inner control freak as she runs, clutching her bag to her chest. She bursts into the meeting room out of breath as everyone turns to stare at her. Caroline is about to apologize when she looks around the room and her eyes fall once more on the "guy", as she's been calling him in her head. "Are you stalking me?" She blurts before opening her eyes wide and clamping a hand over her mouth.

Klaus starts a little and looks at her with a mixture of shock and disdain. Caroline is a little confused because it seems like now that this "guy" knows that she is a professor he seems to look on her as if she was something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe. Elijah coughs and gestures for her to take a seat and Caroline is about to speak again before she thinks better of it and takes her seat in silence.

Klaus Mikaelson rubs his temples as he tunes out what Elijah is saying. What is it? Some crap about departmental unity that he vomits up every year? No thank you. See, Klaus has had an eventful morning. Actually, it all started yesterday when he literally ran into that beautiful woman at his favorite coffee shop. When she fell into his arms, he didn't even care that she had just ruined his favorite suit. Something about her felt warm, melty, like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Even though she wasn't his usual type, he knew true, effortless beauty when he saw it. As she had awkwardly bumbled around, trying to apologize for her clumsiness, he felt himself beginning to smile, a true grin like one he hadn't smiled in ages. It was like he was inhaling the cloud of happiness that seemed to cling to her like perfume. She had seemed receptive to his advances, but for some unknown reason she had abruptly turned away. Klaus had just shrugged his shoulder and forgotten about it. There are other women in this world, he thought as he caught the eye of a sultry brunette checking him out in the street.

The next bit of news he had received completely occupied his mind for the rest of the day. Elijah had pulled Klaus into his office and seated him down. "Why are you putting away your vases, brother?" Klaus asked as Elijah moved anything that seemed remotely breakable. Elijah just continued in silence before sitting down and calmly saying, "Brother, it appears that our dear sister has become engaged."

Klaus had gotten up and immediately looked for something to break. Finding nothing, he turned to Elijah and started yelling. "WHAT AN IDIOT! THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME! Foolish little sister always convinced by a few kind words that someone is in love with her. Doesn't she remember how the last ones ended? They only want a piece of our fortune, mark my words Elijah-"

Elijah had let Klaus continue on his tirade for several minutes before interrupting him. "Klaus, if this new paramour of Rebekah's worries you, he and Rebekah will be in New York for Thanksgiving where we will have a chance to uncover his intentions. In the meantime, try not to make our sister cry." Elijah had spoken the last words like it was only brotherly duty that had made him utter them, knowing full well that Klaus wouldn't hold back when he called Rebekah.

Klaus had called Rebekah that night, but she never picked up. Klaus remembered having thrown the phone across the wall and cursing his sister for not answering his calls. A wine bottle and a cigarette later, for some reason his mind returned to the blonde from earlier that day. Before he could realize what he was doing, his hands had grabbed a sketchbook and were starting to carve out her face onto the marble page. No, he didn't draw, he thought as he threw the sketchbook aside. Not anymore.

His pique had continued that morning, when he had been asked by Elijah to supervise one of the new professors, a one Dr. Caroline Forbes. He was looking forward to writing a scathing review because he had read her paper and disagreed vehemently with just about everything she had written. As soon he entered the classroom, his mouth opened in surprise. It was her, the ice cream girl from yesterday. He had been prepared to dislike this new professor, but as she lectured on, he found he couldn't entirely hate her. She was a little meandering sometimes, but her passion and enthusiasm brightened up the 8:00am class and managed to hold the attention of the students. Klaus had frowned at her as he had tried to reconcile the idea that this beautiful woman could appear to be so smart and passionate but have ideas that were just wrong.

Now, at this faculty meeting, with her rude outburst, Klaus immediately finds himself switching from guarded admiration to annoyance. Who was she to provoke him, a lowly new assistant professor who was probably only hired because Elijah had a thing for pitiful creatures like her. He just looks at her with disdain and leans in to whisper, "I could ask you the same question about stalking, love."

"Please, gentlemen and lady," Elijah nods to Caroline, who is the only female professor in the room. "I would like to get to the real point of our meeting here. Recently, our esteemed president has given this department a substantial sum for extra research, with the stipulation that it must be awarded fairly. I have decided that in order to foster growth and interdepartmental unity, you will be assigned a partner and be required to create a proposal. For those of you without tenure, this is an excellent opportunity to show this department what you might be able to achieve." Elijah pauses, smoothing his already immaculate suit. He pulls a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "Dr. Jones with Dr. Smith, Dr. Smoak with Dr. Manning, and finally Dr. Merloup and Dr. Forbes." If silence that followed were any colder Caroline would've been frozen solid. She slowly turns to Klaus, who is seething at Elijah.

"Dr. Merloup?" She stutters, her eyes widening as she realizes the truth of why he looked so disdainful in her class this morning.

"The one and only," he turns to her, gnashing his teeth. Both Klaus and Caroline turn to yell at Elijah. "Elijah, why would-"

"Elijah, you know he completely hates-"

"-she can't even write a-"

"-personally victimized me and-"

"-refuse to teach a new professor-"

"-please switch me with someone else-"

"Enough!" Elijah shouts, slamming his fist on the table. "I do not have time for your juvenile antics. I expected better from you, Dr. Forbes and Nikl-I mean, Dr. Merloup. All decisions are final. I expect your completed proposals by February 1rst." Elijah forcefully straightens his folders and leaves Caroline and Klaus to glare at each other.

"What are you looking at, _doctor_?" Caroline narrows her eyes and crosses her arms across her chest.

"Just some fool who thinks she can be a professor."

Caroline raises an eyebrow. Oh, she can throw down. "At least I'm not someone that _looks_ for papers to destroy because it inflates my ego. Unlike some people."

Klaus sees red as leans in close to Caroline. "Foolish girl, Elijah only hired you because he has a weakness for pretty faces. Do yourself a favor and leave academia to the adults and find yourself a nice husband and live a nice, quiet, suburban life with two kids and a dog."

Caroline looks on in horror. She cannot believe he just said that, to her of all people. In hindsight, she is so glad she didn't take him up on his offer after the ice cream incident. "Okay, since you just met me, let's get a couple of things straight, mister. One, I'm not a 'fool', and insulting me here is horribly unprofessional. And I'm flattered that you think I'm beautiful enough to convince Elijah, one of the most methodical and intelligent men I have ever met, to give me a job at one of the most elite Universities in North America. Two, in case you haven't noticed, I am an adult, and if you thought you could just insult one of my papers, and I'd run for the hills, crying, then you are so wrong buster. And three: Seriously? You're going to throw the whole 'get a husband and have babies' card at me in this day and age? Honestly, I'm surprised women don't barf on your shoes when you open your mouth and spew your misogynist crap." Caroline clenches her fists, shaking in anger. She hasn't gotten this worked up in ages.

"Says the woman who was in my arms yesterday." This gets the attention of Elijah, who is the only one left in the room after the other professors have inched out and away from the conflict brewing between the two young professors.

"It wasn't like that and you know it!" Shouts Caroline as she stands up, knocking her chair to the floor. "If I had known it was you that caught me I would've slapped you in the face!"

"Alright love, whatever you say. But I remember the way your heart was beating, and I don't think that was because you were scared of falling." Klaus grins as he watches Caroline get even angrier. God, it's so easy for him to push all of her buttons. Maybe this will turn out to be an interesting year after all.

"God, this is totally unprofessional and inappropriate. I can't even look at you anymore. I'm going to do some actual work." She sneers at Klaus before stopping out of the room and into the hallway, a blonde tornado leaving mayhem in her wake, knocking aside students as she mutters to herself.

Elijah is still for a moment before he looks at Klaus. "Niklaus." It's just one word, but in it contains a lifetime of warnings and reprimands. Klaus ignores him and gets up and leaves the room. Elijah sighs in dread because he knows the look on Klaus's face. It's one of hunger, one of determination. It's the look that says the game is on.

* * *

_Beep. Sherriff Liz Forbes. Leave a message. Beeep!_ Caroline sighs as her call goes straight to voicemail. She is sitting in her tub, surrounded by candles that smell like cinnamon and vanilla. She tries again to reach her mom, but she isn't picking up. Caroline finally surrenders and leaves a voicemail. "Hi mom, it's me, Caroline. I'm just calling… um… because it's my birthday and I haven't heard from you and I'm just wondering if you're okay… So yeah… Call me back when you get the chance… love you… bye." Caroline hangs up with disappointment. She didn't really expect a birthday call because she hasn't gotten one for the past 5 years, but it still would've been nice.

Caroline usually doesn't ask for much for her birthday. All she needs is a gentle congratulation from Katherine and she's fine. And maybe it would've been nicer if she didn't have a self-assured asshole yelling at her. She actually hates her birthday it she's being honest, because it always reminds her of her mother's words, that-

_BRINNGGGGGG! BRIIINNGGGG!_

Caroline smiles. Katherine always figures out a way to change her ringtone from "Let it Go" to that annoying old phone ringtone. Caroline wouldn't be surprised if this is Katherine now, calling to see how she's doing. "Hey bitch, how's it going?" Caroline asks without even checking the caller ID. There's silence on the phone line for a couple seconds and Caroline starts to get worried. She quickly pulls her phone back to glance at the ID. _Shit_. "Um, hi mom. Sorry about that I thought you were someone else." Caroline winces as she waits for the yelling that she knows from experience is about to start.

Surprisingly, Liz doesn't start yelling. "…Uhhh… HIIIIII… How is… my beee-yoouu-tifulll daughter?" The slurred words confuse Caroline for a second.

"Mom, are you drunk?" Caroline doesn't believe it. But the giggling on the other line confirms that her mother, uptight Liz Forbes, respectable Sherriff of small town Mystic Falls, VA, is drunk out of her mind.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Oh… don't get your panties…" Caroline can hear muffled giggles, "in a twist… I'm fine… I'm not drunky monkey."

"Yes, mom, you are. Why are you drunk? Never mind, I don't wanna know. Just go to bed and get some sleep."

"No… I'm not fine…" Liz starts whispering as if sharing some big secret, "I'm worried for my daughter, Caroline."

"Why are you worried about your daughter?"

"HAHAH… My daughter… turns 29 today…" Liz sounds pained.

"Oh, so it's her birthday… that's not that bad... why don't you call her and wish her a happy birthday?"

"NO NO NO! It's not a good thing. My daughter… had a great life… she was engaged, and he was a great guy… what's his name… Mike? Mutt?"

"Matt. His name was Matt." Caroline replies quietly.

"Ah, yes, Matt. But then-" Lizs pauses in that dramatic way that drunk people do "-she threw it all away! She gave up on him to be… a professor! Can you believe it! She was all set with a good husband, and then… she throws it all away… She couldn't hang on to him…a professor. She's gonna get so old with all her books that she's not gonna be able to have any babies."

"Well, maybe she doesn't want any kids. Have you ever considered that?" Caroline spits, clenching her fingers around the phones.

"No no, honey, you sound young… lemme give you some advice… Books aren't babies! She better get married soon… and give up that stupid job of hers, because her clock is ticking…" Liz pauses for another moment before getting angry. "Do you hear me? BOOKS AREN'T BABIES!

A single tear falls down Caroline's face. "Would you love her even if she didn't have babies? Do you still love her?"

This is the moment of truth. This is the one thing that Caroline has doubted her entire life. Every since her dad left, she's been holding on to this question, always suspecting her mom wasn't telling the truth, that those words really meant nothing to her mother. Now it's time for the truth in a way that only drunk people can deliver it.

"I'd love her a lot more if she gave me some grandchildren…" Liz mumbles grumpily. "OOOHHHH DANCING WITH THE STARSSSSSSS! I'M COMING MAKSIM SCHMERCHOCOHCOSJOYYYY-EY" Liz giggles childishly and then hangs up abruptly, leaving Caroline speechless.

"Love you too, mom," Caroline says finally, after the end of their first conversation in five years.

* * *

Klaus glances over the paper again and sighs. It's no use. He's been going over Dr. Forbes's paper and his rebuttal for the past several hours now. He would never admit to himself that he was too harsh, but… let's just say that he's said some things that would make even Perez Hilton's skin crawl. Her paper _was_ well written, and with a closer look he can see that she is obviously intelligent and well educated, but there's something about the fundamental basis of her argument that he just can't seem to wrap his head around. Everything she assumes about humans seems to come from an idea that humans are fundamentally good. Klaus knows better.

He's seen an ugly, vicious side to humanity that they don't teach you in the shining halls of universities. The dark underbelly full of destruction and the lust for power are the true characteristics of humanity, learned the hard way in the streets among people that have nothing and perpetuated by those that have everything.

He can't help feel a little bit sorry for her. She probably had lived a sheltered life so far, grown up in a small town and always knew the difference between right and wrong with no shades of gray. Still, he wonders how someone could be so ignorant to not see the large moving pieces that surround the world, always set in motion by those who wanted to control others and the evil of humanity.

Klaus is sitting there pondering these thoughts when Elijah opens the door to his apartment and comes in without knocking. "By all means," drawls Klaus as he lifts his glass of whiskey towards Elijah. "Make yourself at home, dear brother."

Elijah strolls carefully to the bar and pours himself a drink, inspecting it and swishing it around before replying. "Now is not the time for manners, Niklaus. You almost got me in quite a lot of trouble today."

"Oh, come now, Elijah, you can't be mad at me for that. I was simply defending myself after Ms. Forbes attacked my academic integrity." Klaus smiles sarcastically.

"It's Dr. Forbes. Need I remind that the situation we are in is quite precarious? You would do well to avoid drawing attention to yourself lest anyone discover our connection." Elijah frowns as he paces. Sometimes he feels that Klaus doesn't take anything seriously enough.

"Elijah, you worry too much. As if anyone would ever believe that we are brothers. We look nothing alike, it's a wonder no one said anything while we were growing up." This time Klaus's smile hides a tiny bit of hurt behind it.

Elijah draws in a deep breath. He knows it's best to tread carefully when Klaus is in one of his moods, so he decides to avoid the subject that Klaus is hinting at and get strictly back to business. "Do remember, I was the one that got you this job, despite your less than spotless track record. Cross me again and I will be forced to stop supporting you and leave you alone to deal with the consequences from Mikael."

"Oh brother, you would never abandon me. Not after all that I've done for you."

"Yes," Elijah says with a faraway look in his eyes, shuddering in remembrance of an unpleasant memory. "Not after all that you've done for me." His brother can be rash, foolish, and frankly and absolute arse, but Klaus has helped Elijah out in ways that Elijah could never possibly repay.

"Good. Now that that's settled, if you could just lock the door on your way out," Klaus hints, dismissing Elijah and looking back down at his papers.

Elijah leaves, slightly flustered. He marvels how different his dynamic is with his brother when they are alone, Klaus, the younger brother, giving him the orders instead of the other way around. Elijah quickly shoves the thought away as he sees an old woman that needs help with her groceries and rushes over to help her.

* * *

Caroline slams her laptop shut and rubs her temples. She's halfway through her required office hours and so far no one has shown up yet. She really just wants to go home, but Elijah is down the hall and would know if she skipped out early from the required department hours. After the disaster that was last night, all Caroline wants to do is go home and curl up on the couch with a nice big tub of Ben and Jerry's. So far, she hasn't seen Klaus today, and for that small miracle she is glad. The nerve of that bastard.

Literally everything about him reeks of arrogant asshole. His profile picture is him at some exotic locale showing off his toned physique with a supermodel gorgeous blonde woman on his arm. What, no! She isn't stalking him. It doesn't matter how gorgeous his smile was or how his eyes are a brilliant blue or- nope, he was a total asshole.

A sudden loud BANG! Interrupts Caroline's thought process as someone stumbled into the room. It's a girl with bright pink streaks, ripped tights, a flowy bohemian looking top, and black leather boots who's clutching a messenger bag with tons of campaign buttons on it. She tripped once more over the carpet before stumbling and flopping into the chair.

"Hi, can I help you?" Caroline asks tentatively as she looks at the girl quizzically.

"Yeah, you can," the girl says matter-of-factly, "I've always wondered why Alex Trebek is such an asshole. I mean, he's got a pretty sweet gig, just reading questions or answers or whatever they call him, but he's such a fucking condescending asshole to every single contestant. I'm like, Trebek, I know you're not as smart as half the people on this show. Everyone knows it." The girl gives a huff of disgust as Caroline just stares at her, unsure how to respond.

Weirdly enough, Caroline knows exactly what's she's talking about. When she watches Jeopardy! (okay, all phD students watched the show, it was their version of a study break) she screams at the contestants and Trebek alike, but mostly just Trebek for being an asshole. "I don't know… maybe he likes the power he has over people?" Caroline asks, trying to figure out what this girl is getting at. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Oh! Completely forgot," The girl face palms, "I'm Anna. Johnson." She adds the last name like an afterthought.

"Alright, Anna, well what can I help you with? I don't think I explained the project clearly enough, so-"

"Oh no," Anna looks horrified, "I don't take your class at all. Well, I take it, but with that other dude. Merloup."

"Then… um… why are you here?"

"It's kind of a funny story, I mean, you don't really wanna hear it right? It kinda involves some other professors, and an incident with a frog, and a bright purple sequined top. I guess all that matters is I need your help."

"Alright," Caroline says reluctantly. "I won't ask. What do you really need my help with?"

"See, I have this project. Yeah, for class. And I just need your expert opinion on a certain thing because I want to know how humans would react in, uh, certain different scenarios." Anna pulls out a notepad and clears her throat. "For example, in a group of people, if one of them has… different interests than the others, I don't know, for example, one of them happens to like someone and they tell them, how would the group react?" Anna looks up expectantly, hope in her eyes.

Caroline smiles on the inside. It's obvious that this girl is asking her for relationship advice, but she decides to play along. "Hmm, I would say you should always tell them how you feel, because you might regret it later if you don't. You can't go through life worrying about what others would think."

"When you say you, that's, like, the collective you, not me, right? Because we're talking about a project here, not me."

"Oh, of course, no doubt at all, not you, collective you." Caroline reassures her.

Anna looks at her a second before continuing. "Good. Well, yeah, thanks for that, but what I'm asking is your professory perspective on how humans react to differences…"

"Well, some might react badly. Sometimes, the people you are closest to and love the most end up disappointing you with their expectations for you." Caroline says, flashing back to her mother's drunken antics last night.

"Hmm…" Anna says, chewing on the end of her pencil, looking philosophical. "But, maybe a reason they have expectations for you is that they do love you, and want you to be happy. Sometimes I feel like people are so caught up in trying to love themselves they forget how to love other people in the way they need to be loved."

Caroline is stunned by Anna's suddenly philosophical tone. Now that she thinks about it for a couple of seconds, what Anna said was so right. Caroline reflects on all the interactions she had with her mother while growing up. Everything that her mother did for her was traced back to Caroline's happiness, even if what Liz was doing didn't actually make Caroline happy at all. But still, the anger and bitterness is still there. Caroline still resents her mom for what she has put her through. _She should've loved me for me_, Caroline thinks angrily, _she should've just been my mom_.

"Um, hello? Are you still in there?" Anna asks, waving her hands in front of Caroline's eyes.

"Oh, um, yes, sorry!" Caroline snaps out of her reverie. "So yes, human nature in groups, and stuff."

"Yeah… Well, thanks for the help," Anna looks somewhat disappointed with Caroline's interest level. "I think I'm going to bounce now… I've got work to do, and uh, a paper to write." Anna shifts in her chair nervously.

"Okay, go, get to work. And why don't you come back here next week to chat about how that _paper_ goes." Caroline crosses her arms and smirks knowingly at Anna. She had more than her share of dating troubles once upon a time.

"Thanks," Anna grins sheepishly as she stumbles around the classroom. That girl moves like a Jellyfish, crazy limbs floating and stumbling all over the place, Caroline thinks to herself. Still, she is glad that she came and talked to her. There's something about this girl that Caroline likes. Maybe it's her overall earnestness, or deep down, she kind of reminds Caroline of herself when she started college. Gosh, I'm getting old, Caroline thinks to herself as she sits back in her chair and waits for her office hours to be up.


End file.
